


When You Look At Me Like That

by Stormsong



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Bonds (Supernatural), Angel Soul Bonds (Supernatural), Angel True Forms (Supernatural), Background Destiel, Bonding, Castiel Ships Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester Ships Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Don't copy to another site, M/M, profound bonds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-23 09:47:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19698178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormsong/pseuds/Stormsong
Summary: It all started with a shirt. One thing lead to another and Sam got more than he bargained for when he sated his curiosity.





	When You Look At Me Like That

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ScrollingKingfisher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScrollingKingfisher/gifts).



> This fic is inspired by Scrollingkingfisher's Plot Bunny. Gabriel in one of those 'my eyes are up here' shirts with the arrows pointing in every which direction. Everyone else just thinks it's Gabriel's whacky fashion sense. Sam digs out those holy oil glasses and yeah, his eyes *are* up there
> 
> This fic is for Sabriel Week Day 7: True Forms

“Gabriel…. What are you wearing?” Cas’ question was full of hesitancy, as if he wasn’t really all that sure he wanted to know the answer, but couldn’t seem to stop himself from asking anyways.

Gabriel looked down at his clothes, as if he needed to check what he was wearing. He grinned as he looked back up at Cas. Sam suppressed a groan and tried to suppress a wince when he saw _that_ twinkle in the archangel’s eyes. 

“This old thing?” Gabriel smirked, plucking at his t-shirt. As if it needed drawing attention to. It was a white t-shirt with the words _‘My eyes are up here’_ and a big black arrow pointing up. It would have been relatively normal if it had ended there. But it didn’t. There were arrows _all over the shirt_ . In every shape, color, and size...and pointing in seemingly _every_ direction.

Dean shrugged, in a dismissive gesture. “It’s just another one of his wacky shirts. He’s got like a hundred wacky shirts and pants.”

“I suppose so,” Cas replied, seeming accepting Dean’s explanation. After all, Dean wasn’t wrong. This particular shirt was far from the oddest thing they had seen the archangel wear since he had joined Team Free Will.

Sam, though, wasn’t quite so sure that this shirt was _just_ another wacky shirt. There was something to it. Sam was sure. 

When Sam met Gabriel’s eyes the archangel’s smirk grew into a full Cheshire grin. It was big and toothy, and so very full of mischief. Exactly the face one would expect a being that once masqueraded as the god of chaos and mischief to wear.

Nothing much out of the ordinary happened for the rest of the day. But those eyes, that grin, and that shirt were never far from Sam’s mind for long. He couldn’t make up his mind whether it was just a wacky shirt or if there was a hidden message. It was always on his mind. 

Well...until the next case came along and Sam had other things to think about.

Like wishing Dean wouldn’t pick up random food and eat it; _especially_ when it’s labeled ‘Eat Me’. Sam was just glad that the cookie did nothing worse than make Dean talk backwards. Even Gabriel had had trouble with figuring it out. (According to the archangel he knew every language. Past, Present, and Future.)

That case was harmless enough, no one died. On that case at least.

It wasn’t until the rogue hellhounds that Sam remembered the t-shirt with the arrows pointing in every direction, not just up. Not right away though. He had the holy oil glasses to thank for the reminder. There was more to it than that, of course, but it boiled down to Sam wearing the holy oil glasses and seeing...glimpses of...something out of the corner of his eyes as he and Gabriel were paired up and looking for the hellhounds. Every time Sam turned to get a good look at what he was almost, but not quite, seeing his focus was redirected to the case at hand.

Later, after everything (hellhounds dealt with and Crowley’s whinings ignored), Sam _finally_ got a look at what he kept almost seeing. Much much _much_ later Sam would wonder, briefly, if he had forgotten to take off the glasses or had purposefully left them on (not that it mattered in the end).

Sam turned to look at Gabriel, who had been beside or behind the hunter, but never in front of the hunter, any time Sam had had the holy oil glasses on. Sam had intended to ask the archangel why he’d kept staying jut out of sight, but all words and thoughts vanished like water vapor.

Sam stood stunned by what he saw, completely unable to tear his eyes away. He didn’t want to. If he did he was afraid he wouldn’t be allowed to see such magnificence ever again.

It was amazing how much humans had gotten correct about angels and how much they had gotten wrong.

Gabriel radiated light like...well...like he was haloed by it. It wasn’t a ring around the archangel’s head like so many pictures, paintings, tapestries, and glass windows depicted. No...this encompassed Gabriel’s entire body. Sam was almost sure that if he reached out a hand that he could touch it like it was a physical thing instead of little beams of light, it _moved_ like it was living too.

The wings, something Sam already knew angels had, but could _see_ now...twitched and shifted in what Sam, somehow, knew was a conflict of emotion. And if Gabriel’s...halo...for a lack of a better word...seemed alive, well, the wings seems even more so. The wings, all six of them, were the most emotive things that he ever saw. Sam could tell by the way they twitched in quick tiny movements that were ever so slight that they were annoyed by something, but, but the way they puffed up and spread wide, in a way that reminded Sam of a peacock showing off, that the wings were…. Sam huffed softly to himself. The wings were displaying themselves _just_ like a peacock would with his tail, showing how beautiful they were, in a proud manner.

Someone sighed, a sound of annoyance and amusement, but Sam couldn’t be bothered to find the source as his eyes were drawn away from the wings to the rest of the archangel.

The rest of Gabriel was...indescribable. Or more accurately contradictive. The archangel looked both humanoid and animal, but not like anything out of a fairy tale or lore book. No one body part looked completely human or animal, but somehow a combination of both.

There was one thing about Gabriel’s true form that Sam found the most amusing, the most astonishing, the most wondrous.

Gabriel really did have eyes _everywhere_ . Like quite literally _everywhere_. The archangel was completely covered in eyes. From head to feet, even the wings weren’t spared. It wasn’t creepy or grotesque like one might think. It was like someone took a winged doll and rolled it in gold flecks and then in small multi faceted citrine gemstones.

Simply put: Gabriel was beautiful.

Sam was so entranced by Gabriel’s beauty and magnificence that he didn’t notice the archangel approach him, not until Gabriel removed the holy oil glasses from Sam’s face.

Gabriel gave Sam a look that was both fond and annoyed. It was matched in his tone when he said, “You shouldn’t have done that, Sam. You risked burning your eyes in their sockets, or death, just to sate your curiosity? That was foolish, even for a Winchester.” Gabriel lifted the glasses up in one hand and continued his reprimand with, “These wouldn’t’ve been able to protect you, Sam.” He tapped them against Sam’s forehead before pocketing the glasses. “Why do you think I stayed out of your line of sight like I did, hmm? Contrary to popular belief I don’t like hurting you.” Gabriel’s eyes went wide, as if he realized what he just said. As if he had revealed something he hadn’t meant to.

Gabriel shifted and Sam suddenly knew that the archangel would have run away, but Sam couldn’t let that happen. Not after hearing the concern in Gabriel's voice that the archangel clearly felt for Sam...or the fondness…. When Gabe had said those words, _‘I don’t like hurting you’_ ...it was as if some invisible force had slotted several puzzle pieces together and Sam could finally _finally_ see the picture. 

With his heart doing double time and reflexes honed from hunting supernatural beings Sam reached out and snagged Gabe’s wrist before the archangel could do more than shift his weight. To walk away, perhaps fly away, Sam wasn’t certain; only that he couldn’t let Gabe leave.

There was a vulnerability there in Gabe’s eyes that Sam had only gotten a fleeting glimpse of during that moment in the warehouse when the Trickster had been outed as an archangel. Now, though, Gabe seemed unable to hide it. 

There was a question there too, but one Sam was sure Gabe hadn’t meant to let shine so clearly. It asked: _“Will hurt me too?”_

Sam had a question of his own. _“Will you die, too, if I let myself love you?”_

* * *

_Several feet away and unnoticed by Sam and Gabriel…._

Dean shut Baby’s trunk with a sigh, they were finally all packed up and ready to hit the road.

The hunter turned to see Cas watching Sam and Gabe several feet away. Okay, scratch that. They would be ready to leave if Sam and Gabe didn’t appear to be standing around having some sort of intense staring contest.

That was all good and well, but Dean missed his memory foam mattress back at the bunker and he was looking forward to a night of sleep on it. The bunker was only a few hours or so away and nothing was going to stop him from sleeping in his own bed tonight. Whatever the ever loving fuck they were doing they could do it later.

Dean took a step forward to herd the kids along when his progress was halted.

“Hold on, Dean. They are ‘having a moment’.” Somehow Cas still managed to get air quotes in his sentence without using his hands. Dean could _hear_ the gesture.

“Yeah, Cas, I can see that, and I’m gonna go break it up so we can get this show on the road.” Dean tried to take a second step forward, but Cas hadn’t let Dean go and his grip was pretty firm.

“You don’t want to do that, Dean,” Cas told him firmly.

Dean turned to Cas and saw that the angel’s expression was as serious as his tone. Well...when was Cas’ tone and expression ever _not_ serious? But that wasn’t the point. The point was that Cas clearly didn’t want Dean interrupting whatever was going on between their brothers.

Dean gave his angel suspicious eyes. “Why don’t I want to do that?”

Cas replied, “If things go well Sam and Gabriel will finally strengthen their bond into a profound one.”

Dean opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. “Yeah, alright. I suppose they haven’t had much of a chance to do that.”

Cas’ hand came down to hold Dean’s and when the angel smiled the hunter couldn’t deny that his little brother deserved some of the happiness that Dean felt with Cas.

* * *

Sam took a breath and asked the most important question, “Why _didn’t_ my eyes burn when I saw your true form?” The words came out soft. There was something going on here, Sam didn’t know what, but it wasn’t going to be him that broke it.

Gabe sighed like he wanted to be anywhere or doing anything other than having this conversation. “Are you sure you want that answer? Once you know there is no going back, not for either of us. That information will be out there.”

Sam smiled just a little. Gabe was delaying like Dean does when faced with ‘chick flick’ talk. Both Dean and Gabe acted like it was the worst torture possible. Which was the funny party since it was usually Dean that started such discussions.

When Sam didn’t say anything Gabe made a face and asked, “You’re gonna make me say it, aren’tcha?”

Sam’s lips twitched as he tried not to laugh. “Since I don’t know what ‘it’ is, yeah, Gabe, you kinda have to.” To try to encourage Gabe Sam moved his hand from gripping the archangel’s wrist to holding his hand.

It seemed to help at least a little because some, not all, of the tension in Gabe eased.

“Okay…so you know how Dean-o is always tense when Cassie has been out of his sight for too long? Or how sometimes they disappear for hours together but they never look like they’ve had sex even though Cassie looks so relaxed afterwards?”

“How could I not notice?” Sam replied. “ What does that- Wait…. Do you mean their ‘profound bond’? Is this about that? ‘Cause I always thought that was Cas’ way of saying he was more attuned to Dean because he pulled Dean from Hell and all.”

Gabe snorted. “Ha! Not even close! But yeah, I mean exactly that. Dean-o and Cassie _are_ bonded. What they have is stronger than diamonds, as it should be considering their bond was forged in the bowls of Hell. And Cassie is just a dramatic little shit.” When Sam gave him a disbelieving look Gabe said, “Yeah, I know he doesn't look it on the outside, but humans miss a ton of nuances by only being able to see the vessel.”

There was something about the word ‘bond’ and how Gabe was using it and how Sam was certain he was missing something; and if he wasn’t careful Gabe was going to let them get off topic.

“So we have a profound bond?” Sam asked, prodding.

Gabe hmmm’d and tilted his head back and forth. “Not exactly. There is a link between us that could be more.” 

“What do you mean and how come I get the feeling there is something you’re leaving out?”

Gabe waved his free hand between them. “Me and you are connected, but not bonded, and have been since we met at Crawford Hall.”

“All this time?” Sam did some quick math and came up with an answer that made him a bit faint. When Sam spoke his words came out in a near whisper, layered with emotions Sam was afraid to label. “That was before I knew you were an archangel. Before I died and Dean sold his soul to bring me back.”

“No, no, no, Sam, don’t go there. You can’t think about it like that.” 

Suddenly Sam’s face was between Gabe’s hands and their faces were so much closer together than they had been a moment ago.

“Why not?” There was an ache in Sam’s voice that he didn’t like. “Everything could have been different.”

Gabe shook his head violently. “No. It couldn’t have. Everything had to be _exactly_ as it happened. The time for us wasn’t right. But we can have now, Sam.”

Sam took a much needed stabilizing breath, but didn’t pull his head away from where it was. “Do you want ‘us’?”

For the first time since the conversation started the archangel smiled. “Yeah, I think I do, Samshine.”

“Good,” Sam smiled, “‘Cause I do, too. But you’re gonna have to explain the whole bond thing a bit better, I think.”

Gabe huffed and pouted but it was all exaggerated. “If you insist.”

It was so cute how Gabe was pretending to be put out that Sam couldn’t resist closing the space between them and kissing the archangel on the nose. When he pulled back he could see that Gabe was stuck speechless. 

Sam chuckled softly and pulled Gabe’s hands down of his face. He gave them a squeeze and said, “Dean’s getting antsy, and I think this is a conversation best continued at home.”

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't figure out how to end this without making it into a chapter fic....so it's a chapter fic. but I'm hoping it won't have more than one more chapter to be honest..... This wan't meant to be a long fic.


End file.
